Various forms of exercise such as swimming, jogging, cycling and rowing have been popular. An additional exercise which is rapidly gaining in popularity is climbing. In fact, climbing has a number of distinct advantages over these other forms of exercise.
For example with climbing the limbs primarily involved in the exercise are used throughout a relatively large range of motion. This produces greater energy expenditures for the total body.
Additionally a component of balance is included in the climbing activity. This forces the antagonist (anti-gravity muscles) and stabilizing muscle groups of the upper and lower body to play a more active role in the exercise.
There are or should be no impact forces encountered of any significance which means that overuse injuries should not occur. The nature of the rhythmic movement with controlled speed of stepping contributes to this. An abundant amount of medical and physiological data supports the negative aspects of jogging because of the jarring effects resulting from forces being transmitted from the ground, through feet, ankles, knees, hips and low-back. Joggers suffer from fallen arches, ankle sprains, shin splints, knee soreness, heel bone spurs, hip-point soreness and low back pain.
It is very difficult for the subject to rest or cheat during the climbing activity, unless it is intentional because it requires continuous coordinated movements with a metronome or rhythmic music.
Because of the relatively large vertical displacement of the body which inherently occurs in this activity, the level of intensity of exercises performed on the inventive device will generally be higher than other modes of workouts, resulting in higher overall point values.
A bicycle supports the user on a seat and reduces the use of the arms. This decreases the subject's energy expenditure. It has been estimated through research that oxygen uptake requirements are about fourteen percent lower in cycling than treadmill running because of the decreased anti-gravity work. Climbing utilizes all major muscle groups with the bench height about ten inches or a stepping rate greater than 25 steps per minute.
Swimming incorporates a bouyancy factor, thus reducing the energy expenditure. Climbing during the course of 25 minutes produces a greater energy expenditure than swimming for the average person, because most people cannot swim for 25 continuous minutes. Also, climbing strengthens the muscles of the legs--a process missing in swimming.
Although, as indicated above, climbing has a number of distinct advantages over other forms of exercise, there is one serious disadvantage in that it is not always convenient for someone to be able to perform the climbing exercise.